HEAD Architecture and Design Limited was conceived by Mike Atkin and Mark Panckhurst over a series of beers in Hong Kong in 1999.  It was born of a shared pursuit of excellence in architectural and interior design and a belief that they could provide superior design service. Urged on by a phalanx of friends who imagined their apartments being designed in exchange for cases of cheap wine, HEAD was dragged into life. It was an easy birth, just a certificate but, like all newborns, it didn’t come with an instruction manual.

The early years were made difficult with the Asian economic crisis, SARS, avian flu and the dotcom bust all stunting the young company’s growth. By the time the 2002 World Cup rolled around, the entire office (still just the two of them) was relocated to a residential sofa for a month. The phone rang twice. By comparison, HEAD’s Hong Kong fortress now occupies a whole floor of an office building in Sheung Wan. Even the coffee has improved.